JUNE 5–12, 2026

Seven Countries in Eight Days.

Two BMWs, three friends, and a route drawn across seven countries. Through the Netherlands into Belgium, down through Germany, across Austria and the Stelvio into Italy, through Switzerland to Geneva, up through France, and back through the Eurotunnel. A fourth friend flew over and joined from Munich — so it was four of us for the Italy stretch, which made it better.

The Nürburgring Nordschleife on day two. Lichtenstein Castle perched above the Stuttgart valley. The Stelvio Pass — forty-eight hairpins up to 2,757 metres, the cars earning every metre. Lake Como and Bellagio on the water. The Simplon, Grimsel, and Furka passes through the Swiss Alps, one after another. Geneva. Annecy at sunset. Dijon on the way home.

2,400 files came back — GoPro, DJI Osmo Action, DSLR, phone. The GoPro footage had no location metadata, so the first job was using AI to pull timestamps and GPS from the phone images and match them against the GoPro clips by time and date — mapping the entire journey in order so the footage could actually be organised. From there, AI used Playwright and vision to screenshot each video, assess what was in it, and determine which clips would work best in a cut. It assembled a rough chronological edit; I directed the shape and the pacing. Trailer done in three days, while the trip was still fresh and the dopamine was still high. More to come, but the point was to get something out fast and share it with the people who were there.

Bruges canal at golden hour — Bruges. First stop after the Eurotunnel — canals, cobblestones, and beer at the foot of the belfry.

Nürburgring Nordschleife — The Nürburgring. Fourteen miles of the most famous track in the world. Open to the public on Touristenfahrten days.

Lichtenstein Castle above the valley — Lichtenstein Castle. Perched on a cliff edge above the Stuttgart valley. A detour that earned its place.

Stelvio Pass switchbacks — The Stelvio. Forty-eight hairpins, 2,757 metres. The road does not forgive inattention.

BMWs parked at Stelvio summit — Summit. Two BMWs at the top of the Stelvio Pass. The cars earned it.

Lake Como panorama — Lake Como. The kind of view that makes you stop talking.

Bellagio rooftop view — Bellagio. Rooftop at golden hour. The lake below, the Alps behind.

Driving through the Swiss Alps — The Swiss Alps. Simplon, Grimsel, Furka — three passes in one day. The road just kept climbing.

Annecy lake at sunset — Annecy. Sunset on the lake. The last evening before the drive home.

View through the sunroof in the Alps — Through the roof. Somewhere in the Swiss Alps, looking up.